At the time Getty did this, people like me were somewhat cynical, as it was part of that whole "family values" thing the conservatives claim a monopoly on, but I must say I do enjoy having a long weekend in February...

If I recall correctly, federal employees do not get the benefit of this holiday. Retailers and entertainment outfits do.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada which represents about 170,000 federal employees, has been trying to negotiate a February holiday in its Master Contract for years. To lead the way the union gave its employees a floating holiday which could be taken any day in February.

If I recall, someone had suggested "Flag Day" to correspond with February 15, the day our flag was adopted.

This would not affect me as I am retired. I don't oppose this idea. I do wonder about productivity insofar as public employees are concerned. The fewer days in the office (holiday, sick leave and other time off) the more overtime hours are racked up.

The timing of this just absolutely stinks. There have been private members bills passed during this term that have called for this. So what has taken these Liberals so long??? They had a whole 4 year term because it was expected they would "govern" for 4 years, not wait until the last couple of months before an election to start "governing".

No question, the timing is insulting, but the politics are shrewd. Just ramping up the campaign, the last long weekend of the summer, when people start to think of winter, McGuinty offers a carrot to cushion the blow.